Moon Mountain, Sonoma County
A True National Treasure
There’s nothing quite like it. Huge, twisting, gnarled, mountain-rooted Zinfandel vines with a view of Sonoma Valley, San Francisco, and the Bay Area – thriving plants that are still producing thrilling wines since their origins in the 1880s. Even the most jaded wine veterans are struck with awe upon seeing the great Monte Rosso Vineyard®.
Louis M. Martini purchased this lofty site on the Sonoma side of the Mayacamas shortly after Prohibition. Labeled originally as “California Mountain” Zinfandel, it became the source for many compelling, age worthy, and underrated bottlings under Martini’s namesake label. The Martini Winery has shared some of the prized fruit over the decades with several Zinfandel winemakers, and the Monte Rosso Vineyard® has gone on to achieve legend status on the Martini label and on other labels, including Biale.
At an average of about 1500’ elevation, with its reddish volcanic soils filled with rock and iron, Monte Rosso speaks clearly and firmly as to its sense of place. Sometimes wine newbies wonder what all the fuss is about in red wines, but this is one of those examples of fine red so filled with tantalizing character that you can’t help but sit back, sip slowly, and ponder the power of the site. Try visualizing those pioneering laborers digging into a remote Californian mountainside simply in order to grow delicious wine. To Biale, Monte Rosso is a national treasure and we are proud to be one of the fortunate winemakers to craft a classic from this rare repository of some of America’s most historic grapevines. Long live Monte Rosso!
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Elements of strawberry, dried herbs, cedar, blackberry, and brandied plum on the nose. A generously weighted palate with notes of bing cherry, black currant, and fresh fig all carried forward by lively acidity and complemented by refined and supple tannins.